CALCUTTA, 9 May 2006 — Indian voters braved intense summer heat yesterday as a month-long series of state elections drew to a close and ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi defended her parliamentary seat in a by-election.
With the temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and hot winds lashing the plains, many voters stayed indoors in Rae Bareli in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh from where Sonia is seeking to return to Parliament. She quit the seat, a political borough of India’s famed Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, in March after the opposition charged her with violating the constitution by being an MP as well as head of the National Advisory Council, which monitors the Congress-led federal coalition.
The Italian-born widow of assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is expected to regain her seat easily, although her hopes of a stronger margin of victory than in 2004 might be frustrated by the weather. Her daughter Priyanka went from village to village, asking people to come out and vote.
Officials said the turnout in Rae Bareli was around 43 percent when polls closed at 5 p.m., against 48 percent in the 2004 national election.
“When there is no major opponent, when there is no contest, then people lose interest,” said Priyanka, a huge crowd-puller.
“The low turnout is also attributable to the hot weather. Don’t you see how hot it is?” she asked reporters, smiling.
Similar weather conditions prevailed in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the other states where polling was taking place for the final phase of the staggered five-phase elections in as many states.
Braving scorching heat, millions of voters thronged polling stations across West Bengal to cast their ballots.
Around 55 percent of voters had exercised their franchise by 3 p.m., Raj Kanojia, a top police officer told Reuters. “We are expecting a better turnout late afternoon.”
The state elections are being seen by analysts as the biggest electoral test of the Congress-led federal alliance since it came to power in 2004.
Counting of votes in all five states, from Assam in the northeast to Kerala in the south, will take place on Thursday with results expected the same day.
The most keenly watched voting was taking place in the communist bastion of West Bengal in the east which boasts the longest-ruling elected communist government in the world. Voting is already over in Kerala, another left fortress.
The leftists are expected to win a straight seventh win since 1977 in West Bengal and exit polls show they are likely to regain power in the coastal state of Kerala.
“The left has done well and given stability but they need to do more, especially on education,” said 32-year-old Joy Haldar, who works for a multinational company in Siliguri in the far north of West Bengal.
The communists form a powerful block in national Parliament and their outside support to the Congress-led coalition is vital for the government’s survival. But ironically their main opponent in both Kerala and West Bengal is Congress.
A good showing could embolden the leftist to flex their muscles more on foreign and economic policy in the months ahead. So far they have used their clout to slow or block economic reforms but have not managed to derail a move to deepen ties with the United States.
